Confessions of A Steam-Age Ferroequinologist Journeys on BR’s London Midland Region

ferroequinologist (noun) Someone who studies the ‘Iron Horse’ (i.e. trains and locomotives). From the Latin ferrus ‘iron’ and equine ‘horse’ + -logistAs the British steam era drew to a close, a young Keith Widdowson set out to travel on as many steam-hauled trains as possible – documenting each journey in his notebooks. In Confessions of a Steam Age Ferroequinologist, he cracks these books open and blows off the dust.His self-imposed mission, that of riding behind as many Iron Horses as possible prior to their premature annihilation, led to hours of nocturnal travels, extended periods of inactivity in station waiting rooms, missed connections and fatigue. However, any downsides of his quest were compensated by the camaraderie found amongst a group of like-minded colleagues who congregated on such trains. This is a book that no self-respecting ferroequinologist should be without.

Keith Widdowson is a retired BR employee who made it his mission to capture the last days of steam on the railways around Britain. His mother got him his job at BR because she’d noted his "obsession with timetables." He has previously written The Great Steam Chase: Journeys on the Southern Railway, Riding Yorkshire’s Final Steam Trains and Scottish Steam's Final Fling.